This spring, the city of Durango plans to break ground on a section of pedestrian and cycling trail that will bring residents one mile closer to having a complete link between Three Springs and the Animas River Trail.
“I know that the Three Springs residents are anxious to have that,” Councilor Dick White said.
The Durango City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved extra funding for the almost $3 million project.
The new one-mile portion of the SMART 160 Trail will connect the end of the trail at Davidson Creek Road to the portion of trail under the Grandview Interchange, also known as the Bridge to Nowhere.
Construction will include a spur trail that will connect to Wilson Gulch Road.
The trail is scheduled open in 2017, said Cathy Metz, the city’s parks and recreation director.
Eventually, the city plans to build a trail from the end of the trail at River Road to Grandview Interchange to make the route continuous.
“We are going to connect the dots. It just takes time and we do it in sections,” Metz told councilors.
The city has set aside $2,995,500 to build the new one-mile section. Grants will cover $2,395,500 of the project, and the city will pay $600,000. This includes the project’s design.
“It’s expensive to build these hard-surface trails,” Metz said.
The city is delaying the reconstruction of a trail section that connects Santa Rita Park to County Road 210 to help fund this new one-mile project, according to city documents. The city had received a $200,000 Colorado Department of Transportation grant for this spur trail and set aside $600,000 for its reconstruction.
That money will be spent on the new section of the SMART 160 now that CDOT and the Durango City Council have approved the re-appropriation of the money.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will consider the reconstruction of the trail to County Road 210 as part of its strategic planning work along with other construction priorities, Metz said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
